Physics Games and Physics-Based Game Downloads

(Rate this game! 119 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

Loading...

Coaster Rider is based on Pegasus, an actual roller coaster in Germany’s Europa-Park. It was created by yoyogames.com member Bl@ckSp@rk. It’s a great game and in concept it is comparable to Line Rider, but with a tangible goal.

Deceptively Simple

The goal of Coaster Rider is deceptively simple; all you have to do is draw a track to get the roller coaster from its starting position to a checkered flag somewhere on the map. The catch is that, on your way to this flag, you must collect a number of stars placed around the map. In the first couple of levels this is a fairly simple task; the intended path to the end is fairly cut out by the position of the stars, but by the third level, the game will begin to test your mettle, and it doesn’t get easier through the rest of the ten levels.

Energy In, Energy Out

Coaster Rider is predominantly a game about conservation of energy. In most levels the amount of potential energy you start with is all you have to work with. Because of this, you’ll find yourself constantly tweaking and redrawing sections of the track in order to conserve more energy so you can make it up the next hill. In some levels, however, there are speed boost power-ups which help by adding more energy to the system. It’s up to you how you utilize this energy.

Trial and Error

Tracks in Coaster Rider are not made up of pre-built pieces, but rather they are drawn in a fashion similar to Line Rider. Because of the open-ended nature of track design, there is a huge emphasis on trial and error. Most things you build will not work perfectly the first time, so you will spend a lot of time redesigning the track.

(Coaster Rider Game Screenshots)

Minor Complaints

Rather than the line drawing being completely fluid, it seems to be made up of small line segments, which can sometimes make drawing certain track layouts a pain, with sharper angles in comparison to smoother curves. It also would have been nice to have some sort of “undo” feature for when an “improvement” actually turns out to be detrimental to your track design. There is a save feature, however, which serves the game well enough.

Another minor way to improve the game would be a fast-forward function. Some of the levels’ tracks can become rather lengthy, and having to watch the entire ride over and over can become annoying when all you have to redesign is the very end of the track. Also sometimes the coaster will have just enough momentum to make it over a hill, which can take a long time as well, as you wait for it to slowly inch its way over the top and and down the other side. Being able to speed up the playback of the coaster would have helped with this.

A Fun Ride

Coaster Rider is a blast to play. You’ll most likely be hooked instantly, and it will probably take you a few days to beat, even with just 10 levels. It’s free and can be downloaded at:

Download Coaster Rider (12.2 MB)

Andrew Caldwell is a Journalism major at Youngstown State University.